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Cornies: Musicians battle shifting sands of culture

If people, rather than institutions or structures, are at the heart of what makes a community great, then Londoners need look no further for exemplars than the musicians of London Symphonia, the ensemble that has risen from the ashes of Orchestra London.

Some of us may remember the million-dollar bankruptcy of the old orchestra as a city scandal. Or as an artistic tragedy. Or as the collateral damage from the same sort of economic disruption that sideswiped other cultural industries relying too heavily on old, 20th-century economic models. (Think newspapers, radio, television, cable, etc.)

But for the musicians of the former Orchestra London, the death of their employer was a death in the family, carrying all the same emotions and the same punch to the gut. It was devastating. And it felt personal.

There were predictions, we should remember, that the end of the orchestra would mean an exodus of talented musicians from the city. It would be years before any orchestra would try again to put on regular concerts. And it would certainly be a long time before any arts organization would once again consider London as a place to invest culture dollars.

We should acknowledge now that none of it came true. Crushed but artistically undaunted, it was the musicians themselves who rolled back the stone of their own tomb.

Remember the performances in the baggage claim area of London Airport? The pop-up concerts in libraries, theatres, shopping malls and anywhere else a few stools and music stands could be set up?

Though they often didn’t earn a dime for their efforts, the #WePlayOn musicians determined, within weeks of the collapse of their employer, that their art would survive. They simply refused to quit.

It was the players themselves who incorporated the new organization as a not-for-profit and registered it as a charity, kept playing concerts and, late last year, rebranded their nascent organization as London Symphonia.

The old orchestra had 27 core musicians. London Symphonia? Also 27.

“There’s direct overlap with the musicians of the former Orchestra London,” says Andrew Chung, a violinist and general manager of the new ensemble. “That membership is exactly the same.”

The precise number of players at concerts will expand and contract, accordion-style, “between about 15 players and 60,” depending on the program, Chung says.

“The players are very committed to the community, very committed to the musical culture of London and many of these people reside in London or the region and have done so for many years,” Chung says.

While two of the players are also employed by other orchestras, all of London Symphonia’s core musicians “feel a strong attachment to this particular group and recognize the great ensemble that it is.”

While the musicians have been a constant, the structure of the ensemble is radically different from what had been.

Rather than being salaried, musicians are now paid per-service.

A board of directors chaired by Paul Weaver, a former regional manager (now retired) with Van Houtte Inc., meets regularly with a musicians advisory council consisting of concertmaster Joseph Lanza, Chung and principal trumpet Shawn Spicer.

Rather than rent Centennial Hall and pay the union rates its workers required, London Symphonia uses “very cost effective” venues such as churches and museums.

The London Arts Council is the ensemble’s principal funder at the moment; it provided $120,000 for 2017 for musical activity and assistance in writing a five-year business plan. The Ontario Arts Council is in for $10,000 and the Canada Council for $15,000. Supplementing those amounts, of course, are ticket revenue, “a lot of private donations” and support from foundations.

Chung says program co-ordinators at provincial and federal arts funding agencies are well aware of London’s orchestral music odyssey.

“They have been cheering us on,” Chung says. “They’re as aware of what’s happened in London as Londoners are. They’re looking at what we do with particular interest and I think they’re quite pleased with what they’re seeing. We’ve seen encouraging signs that we’re on the right track (toward increased support).”

London Symphonia wraps up its short 2016-17 season on Sunday afternoon, with a program titled Enchanting Broadway at Metropolitan United Church. The program will feature guest performers from the Stratford Festival, under its music director, Franklin Brasz, together with the host orchestra for re-interpretations of Broadway show classics. (Go to londonsymphonia.ca for details.)

London Symphonia will also release information about its 2017-18 season at Sunday’s concert, Chung says.

In December, when the time comes to choose the mayor’s honour list for 2017, the city’s advisory committees and Matt Brown could do much worse than to name the musicians of London Symphonia as laureates in the arts category. Partly by circumstance and then certainly by subsequent choice, they’ve proven to be artistic rocks amid shifting cultural sands.